Take a trip back

Our Christmas dinner featured a Honeybaked ham. I have a soft spot for Honeybaked because it takes me back to my college years, when I taught skiing at a local ski resort. The Kreuger family owned Honeybaked at that time, and they brought their kids to ski with us for years.

They'd bring two hams for the ski school every weekend. The day crew got one, and destroyed it before anyone got seconds. I worked on the smaller night crew, and we always had leftovers. We'd come in from a cold night of skiing, and tear into the spice and sugar crusted slices of ham, smeared with the sweet and spicy champagne mustard. Food always tastes better after working hard outside, doesn't it?

There are fancier, "better" hams out there, but none of them evoke memories of a job I loved in my heyday. I thought of friends I haven't seen in 15 years. They might be like me - older, heavier, a little more wrinkled than my memory wants to admit. I'll bet some of them are still ski gods and goddesses, on dodgy knees. Me - I haven't skiied in 6 years. I hope I still can when I go to Park City next month.

Food and holidays unlock powerful memories. Where did your Christmas dinner take you?